Politicians

Ancient Greek

Pericles

Athenian statesman and general (c.495-429 BC). He led Athens through its Golden Age, paid citizens f

ancient_roman

Augustus

First Roman emperor (63 BC-AD 14). Avenger of Caesar, victor at Actium, architect of the Principate.

Cicero

Roman statesman and philosopher (106-43 BC). A novus homo who reached the consulship, he saved Rome

ancient_egyptian

Cleopatra

Last pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt (69-30 BC). The first of her Greek dynasty to learn Egyptian, she al

ancient_indian

Ashoka

Third Mauryan emperor (r. c.268-232 BC), first to unify most of India. After Kalinga's carnage in 26

medieval_european

Charlemagne

King of the Franks and first Carolingian emperor (c.742-814). In 46 years and 53 campaigns he unifie

asian_statesman

Itō Hirobumi

First Prime Minister of Japan (1841-1909) and chief drafter of the Meiji Constitution. Born a peasan

ancient_near_east

Hammurabi

Sixth Amorite king of Babylon (c. 1810-1750 BC). Over 42 years he unified Mesopotamia and inscribed

Solomon

Third king of a united Israel (traditionally c. 970-931 BC). Son of David, builder of the First Temp

byzantine

Justinian I

Eastern Roman emperor (r. 527-565). He reconquered the lost western empire, codified Roman law as th

ancient_persian

Cyrus the Great

Founder of the Achaemenid Empire (c. 600-530 BC). He absorbed the Median, Lydian, and Neo-Babylonian

ancient_chinese

Qin Shi Huang

First emperor of China (259-210 BC). In 221 BC he unified the warring states, invented the title hua

european_monarch

Elizabeth I of England

Queen of England (r. 1558-1603), last Tudor monarch. Demoted to bastard when her mother Anne Boleyn

Catherine II of Russia

Empress of Russia (r. 1762-1796). A German princess turned Russian autocrat by coup. She expanded to

Louis XIV of France

King of France (r. 1643-1715, 72 years). The 'Sun King' embodied absolute monarchy, gathered the nob

Peter the Great

Tsar of Russia (r. 1682-1725). Six foot eight, an autocrat who worked as a Dutch carpenter under a f

european_statesman

Otto von Bismarck

First chancellor of the German Empire (1815-1898). The "Iron Chancellor" unified Germany through thr

Margaret Thatcher

British prime minister (1925-2013). The first woman to lead a major Western European government (197

Charles de Gaulle

French general and statesman (1890-1970). He led the Free French in WWII, founded the Fifth Republic

Konrad Adenauer

First chancellor of West Germany (1876-1967). Taking office at 73, he served 14 years and built reco

William Pitt the Younger

British prime minister (1759-1806). At 24 the youngest ever, he led Britain through the Napoleonic W

independence_leader

Sun Yat-sen

First provisional president of the Republic of China (1866-1925), founder of the Kuomintang. After t

Theodor Herzl

Father of modern political Zionism (1860-1904). A Hungarian-Jewish journalist, the 1894 Dreyfus affa

Mahatma Gandhi

Indian independence leader (1869-1948). Known as Mahatma, he wielded satyagraha (truth-force) and ah

Nelson Mandela

South African anti-apartheid leader and first Black president (1918-2013). Sentenced to life for tre

us_president

Abraham Lincoln

16th US president (1809-1865). A self-educated frontier lawyer who became the first Republican presi

John F. Kennedy

35th US president (1917-1963). Youngest elected president and first Catholic in office. He navigated

George Washington

First president of the United States (1732-1799). A Virginia plantation owner who commanded the Cont

Theodore Roosevelt

26th US president (1858-1919). At 42 the youngest to take office, he led the Progressive Era, broke

John Adams

Second president of the United States (1735-1826). Founding Father, Declaration drafter, first vice-